Thursday, May 26, 2016

Adventures in Life: Instilling Patriotism

When you hear Memorial Day, what do you think of?

The start of summer?

A 3 day weekend?

BBQ time with family or friends?

When I was growing up we would often spend Memorial Day weekend at my grandparents house. The weekend always included a trip to the cemetery to remember and honor the men and women who had served our country in the military. Often my grandparents would travel to multiple cemeteries helping with the various services held. The way my grandparents chose to spend their Memorial Day was one of many lessons in patriotism they taught me.

My Grandpa Jim was a Marine and while he did not often speak of his time in the service, it shaped who he was and how he viewed our country. He truly appreciated the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, because for him they were not free. He fought to preserve the freedoms Americans enjoy for himself, his children, his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren.

About a month ago my Grandpa Jim went home to be with the Lord. And even though I can not travel to visit his grave (you know, 39 weeks pregnant!) this Memorial Day we will be remembering him and his service to this country. Acting on the patriotic spirit that he instilled in us.

While the reasons for Memorial Day are still to complicated for Rebekah to understand, I want to start teaching her now about our country. While I do not agree with many of the decisions that are being made by our country today, I do want her to learn about our great nations past. To carry on my Grandpa's patriotic legacy.

One way we are doing that this year is by reading her a book called "God Bless Our Country". It's our newest Tommy Nelson book and it's just perfect for Memorial Day, 4th of July, or just any day you are feeling patriotic! Adorable pictures of animals pairs with sweet rhyming text to teach children about America in a way that is easy enough for toddlers to understand. It also teaches about the importance of praying for your country, something that kids and grown-ups can be reminded of!If you would like to win a free copy of God Bless Our Country for you own collection, just comment here or on my Instagram picture of the book (here) before Monday (Memorial Day!). I received a copy of this book for free from Tommy Nelson Publishers, and like always the opinions here are all my own.

Luckily my children grew up living right off the village green. Every Memorial Day there is a ceremony and parade. Small villages can be great sometimes. Both of their Grandfathers served our country during times of war. This is the first Memorial Day my father won't be alive to celebrate with us (we always had a big family picnic on Memorial Day weekend). That book looks like a wonderful way to teach our two youngest grandchildren about our country and it's proud heritage. Thank you for offering one lucky reader the chance to win it.